COIMBATORE: A 24-year-old freelance photographer in Coimbatore, who was initially believed to have died by suicide, was in fact murdered by a man in a moving car over a suspected love affair. The case surfaced on Monday when the prime suspect, Manojkumar, 24, of Karur, and his accomplice, Karthikeyan, 21, surrendered before judicial magistrate court-I in Coimbatore and confessed to the murder. The victim, U Praveen, 26, of Madathur near Thadagam, who was a photographer and cricketer, left home on Thursday saying that he had a photoshoot assignment in Oddanchatram in Dindigul district. When he did not return, his family filed a missing complaint with the Thadagam police on Friday. Meanwhile, the Podanur railway police recovered a severed body on the tracks behind ABC Theatre near Kinathukadavu and later identified it as Praveen. The death was initially treated as a case of suicide. Investigators said Manojkumar had been in a relationship with a woman from Saibaba Colony for four years after meeting her on Instagram. He later believed that she had become close to Praveen. Police said Manojkumar contacted Praveen on Instagram while posing as a wealthy client and offered a major assignment in Oddanchatram. When Praveen reached there, the suspects allegedly postponed the shoot, forced him to consume excessive alcohol and placed him in the front seat of a car. With Karthikeyan driving and Manojkumar in the back seat, Manojkumar reportedly used a rope to strangle Praveen. Police said the suspects dumped the body on the railway tracks near Kinathukadavu to make it appear a suicide, after which a passing train ran over the body. Government Railway Police at Podanur have taken both suspects into custody and are continuing interrogations.
